21 October, 2011                                    FrancesHoffman@me.com

CUSH Honored with $24,481 Grant
39 grants totaling $1.6 million awarded to state and local government and community groups by the Long Island Sound Futures Fund.

On October 14, CUSH—an acronym that stands for Clean Up Sound and Harbors—was awarded a grant of nearly $25,000 for water monitoring activities. According to Claire E. Gavin, CUSH Founding Water Testing Director, "In our 2011 season we increased the number of sites regularly sampled and added several new projects involving collaboration with academic researchers, other nonprofits, and local businesses.  This grant will enable us to continue and expand these projects in 2012.”
Stonington-based CUSH is the only non-profit environmental group in Southeastern Connecticut with a mission to clean up and protect Fishers Island Sound and its coves, inlets, bays, rivers, and harbors.
To achieve its mission, CUSH has developed three core programs: 1) water monitoring to identify sources of pollution so scientists, policy makers, and other stakeholders can respond effectively; 2) restoring marine habitat; 3) developing and executing educational programs that foster a stewardship ethic among residents and visitors.
CUSH was founded in 2007 by Gracelyn Guyol, an ardent environmentalist.  In the brief space of 3½ years, CUSH has attained a remarkable list of accomplishments:

• Water-monitoring program has grown from 6 sites with 12 volunteers to 14 sites between the Mystic and Pawcatuck rivers
• Participation in a regional water-quality database at the Wood-Pawcatuck Association's website: http://www.wpwa.org/waterQuality.htm. (Makes scientific testing results available to any citizen, researcher, or local official.)
• Awarded $11,096 water testing grant from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• Helped halt plans to rezone and increase development along R#1 in Anguilla Brook watershed
• Launched Water-Friendly Yard campaign, delivering 4-page coastal yard care guides to 24,000 residents of Mystic, Stonington Borough, and Pawcatuck
• Hastened removal of 14,000 pounds of debris clogging a storm drain and creating noxious odors.
• Planted demonstration waterfront “buffer” of native and salt-tolerant flowers, grasses, and shrubs along a public walk to act as filter between yards and harbor
• Created and distributed 5,000 eco-educational “How Boater’s Can Help Clean Up Stonington Harbors” brochures via local marinas
• Joined Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed in July, 2010, cleanup of flood debris in Pawcatuck River
• Collaborated with Save The Bay and Clean The Bay in September cleanup of flood debris on Sandy Point and Pawcatuck River
• Construction grant of $43,200 awarded CUSH, Town of Stonington, and Stonington Harbor Commission for pumpout emptying station, that opened in May 2011, to improve pumpout service in Pawcatuck River, Watch Hill and Stonington harbors
• September, 2011, organized cleanup of debris in Mystic River
• Awarded $24,481 water testing grant from Long Island Sound Futures Fund

The Long Island Sound Futures Fund pools funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to restore the health and living resources of Long Island Sound. Since 2005, groups in Connecticut have received 121 grants totaling $4.5 million. With grantee matches of $13 million, the grants have resulted in $17.5 million for conservation in the state.

Mystic River Cleanup Rescheduled
Saturday, September 17, 9 am – noon, from Gwenmor Marina

Thanks to Tropical Irene, the community cleanup of Mystic River has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 17, 2011, from 9 am to noon.  Volunteers and Captains with pleasure boats are asked to meet at Gwenmor Marina, 12 Roseleah Drive in Mystic and help remove tons of debris.

Decomposition rates of marine debris expected to be removed:

Glass Bottle	1 million years
Monofilament fishing line	600 years
Plastic beverage bottle	450 years
Aluminum can	80-200 years
Foamed plastic buoy	80 years
Rubber boat sole	50-80 years
Foamed plastic cup	50 years
Plastic bag	10-20 years

(Source:  Ocean Conservancy 2004 “Pocket Guide to Marine Debris”)   

              Organize a group of friends and register at www.cushinc.org.  (Participants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.)   Drinking water, latex gloves, and trash bags will be provided.    Areas of focus include shorelines near Williams Beach, Elm Grove Cemetery, between Kitchen Little and Latitude, at Mystic Wastewater Treatment Plant, and south of the railroad bridge on the Groton side.
              This event is a collaboration of CUSH, Clean The Bay, Save The Bay, Gwenmor Marina, United Water, and the Town of Stonington.  It is participating in Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup, the largest single cleanup event in the world.  Contact CUSH at www.cushinc.org or 860 949-0911 with questions.

CUSH Sea Star Awards Honor
Stonington, CT and Charlestown, RI residents

Stonington Borough resident Kathryn Burchenal and Charlestown resident Mike Logan will be the surprise recipients of CUSH Sea Star Awards at the organization’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, May 22, 5:30 pm, at 4 Northwest Street, Unit #2, Stonington Borough.  Sea Star awards are given to honor individuals who have made or are making “significant” contributions to improving local water quality.

Kathryn Burchenal

Kathryn Burchenal joined CUSH in 2007 as Founding Vice President when it was an unknown entity with uncertain future.  Her experience as co-founder of Malaria Foundation International and as a cancer researcher brought the fledgling organization both scientific integrity and non-profit expertise.
 
After obtaining a BA in Zoology and PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Burchenal was employed by the Molecular Biology laboratories at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York for six years.  She worked as a Microbiologist and Pre-doctoral Fellow at the National Cancer Institute, was a Visiting Scientist at the Pasteur Institute in France before returning to Molecular Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
 
In 2002, she and husband Dr. David Burchenal moved to Stonington to raise their twin sons.  A strong believer in community service, her skill as a grant writer brought CUSH its first major award of $11,096 from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation/LIS Fund for water testing, followed by the successful 2010 $43,000 pumpout station grant. 

The Sea Star Award is given to recognize Burchenal’s years of service to CUSH as a founding officer, scientific advisor, grant writer, and passionate supporter of clean water.

Mike Logan

Mike Logan grew up fishing and boating on Fishers Island Sound. Owner of SMC Boat Restoration in Pawcatuck and a member of Westerly Yacht Club, Logan became worried about the amount of debris in the water and on Rhode Island beaches in the late 1990s. When he suggested the Town of Westerly take action, they responded by asking him to spearhead change.

Logan worked with Rhode Island DEM and Connecticut DEP to make Fisher’s Island Sound a “no dumping” zone for boats. He arranged for CT DEP to fund the purchase of the first two Westerly pumpout boats in 2000 that service vessels in Pawcatuck River as well as Watch Hill and Stonington Harbors. He directed installation of the first land-based holding tank pumpout station emptying into Westerly sewers. Logan has supervised pumpout boat operations as a private citizen for a decade, preventing 250,000 gallons of raw, untreated effluent from entering local waters.  In 2011, he and the Town of Westerly successfully applied for RI funds to purchase a replacement pumpout boat.

As a CUSH Director, Logan bridged the border between CT and RI, one ignored by tides, currents, and pollution. He proposed and was co-founder of the successful Salty Sandbagger Golf Tournament, which has raised $4500 in two years.  Logan helped oversee construction of the new $55,000 boat dock and pumpout emptying station at Stonington Borough sewage plant.

The Sea Star Award is given to recognize Logan’s decade of dedication to improving waters of Fisher’s Island Sound.

CUSH—Clean Up Sound and Harbors—is the only non-profit environmental group in Southeastern Connecticut with a mission to clean up and protect Fishers Island Sound and its coves, inlets, bays, rivers, and harbors.

Stonington Boro Pumpout Emptying Station Opens

A demonstration of the new $55,000 pumpout emptying station at Stonington Borough sewage treatment plant, 2 High Street, will be held Sunday, May 22, beginning with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5:00 pm.
            The construction project is a collaborative effort by the Town of Stonington, Stonington Harbor Commission, and CUSH, Inc. with grant funding from Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. The new facility will improve free holding tank pumpout service to boats in Stonington and Watch Hill Harbors as well as Pawcatuck River. 
            These geographic areas are serviced by two Town of Westerly-sponsored pumpout boats that once filled must return to empty into Westerly’s sewer system, a 2-hour round trip.  The Stonington facility will reduce the number of trips required, enabling faster service to boaters impatient to get underway and servicing more boats.
            DEP records show the two Westerly pumpout boats kept 43,000 gallons of untreated sewage out of local waters in 2010 and over 250,000 gallons since the service began.
            Half the new dock will house the Harbormaster’s boat and be paid for by Stonington Harbor Management Commission.  The other half will remain open for pumpout boat use during offloading.  Private boats are not equipped to empty directly into the facility.
            Construction was directed by Town Engineer Larry Sullivan, Public Works Director Joe Bragaw, Harbor Management Commission Chair Peter Vermilya, and CUSH Director Mike Logan.  It came in $15,000 under budget and ahead of schedule.         
            First proposed in 2007, costs for the project not covered by grant funding and the Harbor Commission were to be provided by the Town of Stonington, with the newly formed CUSH assisting through writing the grant application.  When Town funds disappeared with the recession and CUSH grew, the organization agreed to be responsible for providing the $11,000 needed to go forward with the project.

CUSH Refines Mission, Tweaks Acronym Meaning

Stonington, CT--CUSH, Inc., a non-profit marine environmental group, has clarified its mission statement and broadened the scope of its acronym brand name. The Stonington-based organization was incorporated three years ago as CUSH, Inc., which stood for Clean Up Stonington Harbors.
              “Results from comprehensive research during our recent strategic planning process have led us to redefine our purpose,” says CUSH founder, Gracelyn Guyol. The revised mission statement reads:  CUSH—Clean Up Sound and Harbors—is the only non-profit environmental group in Southeastern Connecticut with a mission to clean up and protect Fishers Island Sound and its coves, inlets, bays, rivers, and harbors. 
            “Our research also revealed many residents assume Clean Up Stonington Harbors refers to Stonington Borough harbor, not all harbors within the Town of Stonington.  So, to end that confusion and reflect our expanded function, from now on the CUSH acronym will stand for Clean Up Sound and Harbors.”
            Fishers Island Sound receives pollution runoff from three states: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York.   CUSH collaborates with numerous water testing groups in Rhode Island.   However, it is the only Connecticut environmental non-profit consistently addressing water pollution between the Connecticut/Rhode Island border and the Thames River.            Guyol concludes, “The Board believes now is a good time to make these changes, while we’re still a young organization.  Our new branding will clarify our mission and foster collaboration with land-oriented environmental groups to improve and protect localwaters.”
 

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